Tea-packing machine.



PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906.

W. H. SCOTT.

TEA PACKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILBD MAY 5, 1906.

3 4r W. F; K

' upper end, a

WILBER HUNTER SCOTT, OF OTTAWA, CANADA.

TEA-PACKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1906.

Application filed May 5, 1905. Serial No. 259,041.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WILBER HUNTER SCOTT, grocer, of the city of Ottawa,in the county of Carleton, Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tea-Packing Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in tea-packing machines; and theobject of the invention is, first, to provide a plunger for atea-packing machine capable of being moved out of vertical alinementwith the diebox of the machine and Which is capable of being adjusted soas to adapt the pressure thereof to different grades of tea, and,secondly, to provide a detachable die-box for the machine which will beconstructed so as to retain a sure grip on the package of tea while itis being pressed and also to allow of the said package being readilyremoved therefrom and it consists, essentially, first, of asupporting-standard having an L-shaped foot-lever pivotally secured tothe lower portion of the standard, supporting-bars pivotally connectedintermediate of the length of the said lever provided at its u per endwith an L-shaped bearing-arm,a p unger-rod designed to extend throughthe end of the said arm and to be adjustably held therein, and aplunger-head secured to the lower extremity thereof, a spring connectingthe outer end of the lever to a suitable portion of the standard, and,secondly, of a die box the sides and back of which are formed in onepiece, suitable hooks forming part of the back thereof designed to hookover corresponding projections forming part of the main standard of themachine, the front and bottom of the box being formed in one piece andbeing pivotally connected between the lower front angles of the sides byasuitable bolt and the top having a suitable hinge connection to the topedge of the front of the box, the various parts of the device beingconstructed and arranged in detail as hereinafter more particularlydescribed.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my machine, a portion of whichis broken away to exhibit more clearly the construction thereof. Fig. 2is a vertical longitudinal section through my machine, showing theplunger before it is depressed when thrown out of operation. Fig. 3 is asimilar view to that shown in Fig. 2 with the plunger and foot-leverdepressed so as to compress the tea in the package. Fig. 4 is anenlarged perspective detail of the die-box, the front thereof beingthrown down in the position it would assume when the form is inserted orwhen the package of tea is ready for removal. Fig. 5 is an enlargeddetail of a form on which the lead coverin of the package is wrappedbefore it is place in the die-box.

In the drawings like letters of reference in dicate corresponding partsin each figure.

A is the main standard, provided at its lower end with suitable legs a aThe upper end of the standard is provided with an L- shapedbaokwardly-extendin portion a provided with pins a a, exten ingoutwardly to each side thereof. a is a lug forming part of the leg at.

B is a foot-lever pivotally connected tothe lug a by the pin b andprovided intermediate of its len th with a vertical slot 1) It will benoticed filat the lower end of the standard A extends downwardly throughthis slot, thereby forming a guide for the foot-lever B.

O C are bars pivotally connected at their lower end to the foot-lever Bby a pin 0. Between the bars 0 O at their upper end is secured anL-shaped arm D, provided with a tubular bearing d, attached to orforming part of the outer end thereof.

(1 is a plunger-rod extending through the tubular bearing 01 andadjustably secured therein by a set-screw d d is a suitable plunger-headsecured to the end of the plunger-rod by a set-screw d.

d is a spiral tension-spring connecting the foot-lever with a suitableportion of the standard A.

' E is the die-box, formed of the back portion 6 and the side portions6.

e designates hooks attached to or formin part of the die-box anddesigned to exten over lugs e forming part of the main standard A. Itwill be seen that these lugs e and hooks e are wedge-shaped, so that theweight of the die-box and the pressure upon the same always tend to drawand hold the diebox tight against the standard.

e designates lugs forming part of the diebox and extending to each sideof the standard A.

e designates lugs extending outwardly from the lower front angle of eachside of the box. It will be seen that the front, top, and bottom of thebox are open.

F is the front of the box, and F is the bottom, which are formed inonepiece and pro ICC responding hinge-lugs f, connected to the" hinge-lugsby the p1Ilf f G designates handles extending out of each side of thelid of the die-box f part of the front of the die-box and having anL-shaped lower end f designed to come in contact with the lower edge ofthe die-box, so as to hold the front thereof in a suitable openposition. I

G is the form u on which the lead covering of the package 0 tea iswrapped before it is placed in the machine.-

Having described the principal parts of my invention, I will brieflydescribe the operation of the same.

The lead covering of the package is first Wrapped upon the tin form G inthe usual manner, the bottom of the wrapping being folded under, so asto form the bottom of the package. The form is then placed upon thefront of the die-box F and the die-box is then closed. The operator thenbrings the plunger by hand vertically over the center of the die-box,and then he depresses the foot-lever B, so as to carry the plunger downinto the form G, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to depress the tea within theform. The foot-lever is then relieved, and the plunger flies up into itsupper position by means of the spring d and it is thenthrust back byhand against the pin a thus carrying it out of vertical alinement withthe form G. This enables the form G to be readily removed from thedie-box, leaving the lead package of tea therein. The top of the packageis then folded over in the usual manner, and the lid f of the die-box isswung over on to of the package, so as to complete the pac age and giveit an even surface. The front of the diebox is then thrown open and thepacka ge removed, and the operation can be repeated.

I may state that in old machines of this class where a stationaryplunger is used that the form when it is lifted out from the diebox hasto be carried up over the end of the plunger and held thereon till thepackage is complete, when it is removed.

It will be seen that in my machine by swinging the plunger from over thediebox the form can readily be removed from the machine in oneoperation, and thereby save handlingit twice. It will also be seen thatin making my plunger adjustable within the bearing D it may be adaptedto different grades of tea Where difference of pressure is required,thereby preventin the breaking or crushing of the leaf. It wi 1 also beseen that in my form of die-box, the bottom and front being formed inone piece and pivotally connected between the sides of the box, thegreater the pressure that is brought to bearupon the tea the greater thegrip on the package becomes between the front and the back of thedie-box.

' It will be seen from this description that my machine is very simplein construction and that a package of tea may be formed with a minimumamount of labor and that f is a downwardly-extending lug forming thepackage when formed will have an even neat appearance.

What I claim 2 s my invention is 1. In a tea-p;cking machine thecombination with the main standard, of a suitable die-box securedthereto, a depressible plunger supported vertically above Slld die-boxadapted to be swung out of vertical alinement with the said die-box asand for the purpose specified. v 2. In a tea-packing machine thecombination with the main standard, of a suitable die-box securedthereto, a vertically-adjustable plunger supported above said die-boxadapted to be swung out of vertical alinement with the said die-box asand for the purpose specified.

3. In a tea-packing machine the combination with the main standard, of adie-box secured thereto, a foot-lever pivotally secured beneath the saiddie-box, bars ivotally secured intermediate of the length lever, havinga horizontally-extended upper end, a bearing carried by said end, aplunger rod adjustably secured within the said bearing, a suitableplunger-head therefor, and means for bringing the plunger back to itsnormal position after the depression thereof, as and for the purposespecified.

4. In a tea-packing machine the combination with the main standardprovided with suitable lugs extending from each side thereof, of adetachable die-box provided with hooks designed to hook over the saidlugs forming part of the main standard as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a tea-packing machine the combination with the main standard andthe depressible plunger, of a detachable die-box and means fordetachably securing the same to the main standard as and for the purposespecified.

6. In a tea-packing machine the combination with the main standard andthe depressible plunger, of a die-box suitably secured to the saidstandard comprising the back and side portions of the box formed in onepiece and having the front and bottom portions suitably hinged betweenthe sides thereof as and for the purpose specified.

7: In a tea-packing machine the combination with the main standard andthe depressible plunger, of a die-box having an open front and ends andthe front portion and bottom portion being formed integrally andpivotally secured between the sides of the box of the said IIO and thetop portion of the box suitably hinged to the top of the front portionas and for the purpose specified.

8. In a tea-packing machine the combination with the main standardhaving a rearwardly-extending upper end, limiting-stops formed upon thesides of the said rearwardlyextending portion and a suitable die-boxsecured to the said standard, of a foot-lever pivotally secured to asuitable portion of the standard, bars secured to each side of saidfoot-lever extending upwardly to either side of the rearwardly-extendingortion of the standard between the said limiting-stops and having aforwardly-extending bearing portion at their upper ends and a suitableplunsupported vertically above the said die-box,-

means for removing it out of vertical alinement with the said die-box asand for the purpose specified.

Signed at the city of Ottawa, in the Province of Ontario, this 25th dayof April, 1905.

WILBER HUNTER SCOTT. Witnesses:

RUssEL S. SMART,

MAY LYON.

